Every day for a year, starting on my 49th birthday, I will do something I've never done before.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New Thing #279--Mixed Ticket

The 2008 General Election is only a few weeks away; I get to help decide who will run our country and state for the next four years.

I've watched the presidential (and the vice-presidential) debates. I've been reading the newspaper, the Internet, and magazines to gather information, and listening to a variety of radio programs to learn about the national, state, and local candidates. Despite all my research, I'm still not sure who I'm voting for in some races. Today I researched third-party and independent candidates that are running for office.

There was a sample ballot in a community newspaper that came in the mail yesterday. In addition to the Presidential race, our U.S. Representative seat is up for grabs, as well as all the state-wide offices. We'll also be electing a state Representative and Senator. Many of the major races have at least three candidates--Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian. The Constitution party and one Independent candidate are on the presidential ballot in Missouri; the State Treasurer and Attorney General races are the only state-wide elections that have candidates from just the two mainstream parties.

As I did my research, I tried to read a variety of Websites. This article from Wikipedia had a good comparison of politics and ideologies of each of the parties. I also went to each party's official Website to read about their platforms, then to the candidate's sites to learn about each of them.

After all my analysis, I concluded that there is no PERFECT candidate. However, I can go to the polls knowing that I've chosen the candidate that's best for me. Now that I've finished researching the candidates, I still have to learn about the numerous other measures that will be on the ballot!

About Me

Welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog.
I live in Manchester, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) with my husband. Our three boys are all grown and out of the house. We also have two cats who keep us amused with their antics.